About

India has, over the past few years, seen a massive jump in the spread of what is popularly known as ‘Fake News’. Some of these, however, have had far-reaching, and in some cases, fatal, consequences. Seekingfacts.in is an initiative by fact checking website BOOM to counter the spread of fake news, and this site will serve as a resource for all sections of society, particularly educators and students, to help them spot, verify and report factually incorrect information when they encounter it, along with a tool guide and case studies that they can use for training.

What is Fake News?

It is the creation or distortion, and dissemination, of incorrect information to the public at large, often with malafide intentions. The recent incidents of lynching deaths over mass-circulated messages and videos of child kidnapping over social platforms is perhaps the most extreme effect of fake news.

But first, it is important to understand a couple of basic concepts. Most newspapers or websites or channels have two broad categories: news and opinion. While opinion refers to the publication of personal views held by individuals, the news operation is bound by certain rules.

Identifying Types of Fake News

Identifying fake news can be a tricky affair. Many of these are innocuous forwards from friends and family on WhatsApp while some are viral on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and find their way into our newsfeeds, again, shared by friends.

Case Studies & Recent Updates

WhatsApp messages using an edited video from Karachi were used to spread rumours about child kidnappings in India, resulting in at least three lynchings. BoomLive used video searching software to find that the abduction video was, in fact, an edited version of a public service video warning against child kidnapping.

The BBC conducted a compelling forensic analysis of a video showing the arrest and subsequent killing of a woman in the African nation of Cameroon. The editors used a variety of tools, including sophisticated geo-tagging and satellite imagery to uncover a ghastly massacre by the Army in Cameroon

A widely circulated image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a football jersey with the number 420 (the article in the Indian Penal Code for fraud), on it. A factcheck by BoomLive using Google Reverse Image Search found that the jersey was gifted to PM Modi by FIFA president Gianni Infantino originally said G20.